If there is one Premier League player that has frustrated more than any other over the course of the past few years then without any doubt it is Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian wizard has certainly endured a rollercoaster few years as a footballer, coming from small French side Le Havre to England before playing a leading role in Leicester’s unlikely title win.
There weren’t many across the world that were as sought after as Mahrez at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, with the 26-year-old contributing a healthy tally of 17 goals and 11 assists to Leicester’s monumental efforts, and it was no surprise that he turned the heads of some of Europe’s elite clubs.
Yet, since then he has almost started to regress as a top-flight footballer, failing to meet the newfound sense of expectancy that has surrounded him after such a sudden breakthrough at the highest level.
Things have started to shift again since the arrival of Claude Puel at the King Power, though, and Mahrez is beginning to look more like his title-winning self with a string of impressive performances.
He’s warmed into the current Premier League season as it’s gone on, scoring his fourth goal of the campaign at Newcastle United last weekend, and it’s clear to see he’s building up some momentum.
The Algerian winger has come up with the goods in seven of the last nine game-weeks, finding the net three times in the process, and he should be backed to continue this purple patch of form when Leicester take the trip down to Southampton on Wednesday night before hosting a struggling Crystal Palace outfit on Saturday.
He may still be a shadow of the player he was two years ago but there are growing signs that he’s beginning to re-find his mojo, attempting more take-ons (67) than any of his Leicester teammates during 2017 to date.
The audacity to attempt such a long-range effort against Newcastle at the weekend served as a reminder of his talent, and he seems to be thriving with the freedom that Puel’s system affords him on the wing.
The Leicester boss called on Mahrez to show ‘more consistency’ in an interview at the end of November and it seems that the former African Player of the Year is starting to take note of such comments.
If he can find this consistency, he could become a very fruitful Draft Fantasy asset over the busy festive period.
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